Node.js in Production: Top Frameworks of 2024 According to Developer Survey

Node.js in Production: 2024 Survey Results

The developer community has once again confirmed: Node.js remains one of the most in-demand platforms for server-side development. But what about choosing a specific framework for real projects? We analyzed a recent survey of 12,000 professional developers to find out which JavaScript (Node.js) tools dominate in production in 2024.

Race Leaders: Who's on the Podium

The survey results showed a clear division into three camps. The perennial leader remains Express.js — it is used in live projects by over 60% of respondents. However, the main surprise is the rapid growth of Nest.js. Over two years, this framework rose from 15% to 35% adoption, overtaking Koa.js.

The top three is rounded out by Fastify (28%), which is actively gaining momentum thanks to its performance and native TypeScript support. In fourth place is Koa.js (18%), while Hapi.js and Sails.js close out the list with 7% and 4% respectively.

Why Choose Them?

• Express.js — simplicity and a massive ecosystem. 85% of startups and small projects start with it. Minimal entry barrier, thousands of ready-made middleware.
• Nest.js — architecture inspired by Angular. Modularity, decorators, dependency injection. Ideal for enterprise applications and microservices.
• Fastify — speed. According to benchmarks, it is 2-3 times faster than Express under high load. Plus, built-in schema validation (JSON Schema).

Trends and Unexpected Discoveries

The survey revealed several key trends:

• TypeScript is becoming the standard. 74% of respondents using Nest.js or Fastify write in TypeScript. Even in Express projects, the share of TS has grown to 42%.
• Microservices are moving to Fastify. Among projects with a microservice architecture, Fastify's share is 51%, surpassing Express (29%).
• Koa.js is losing ground. Despite its elegant async/await API, its share dropped by 4% compared to last year. Developers are migrating to more mature solutions.

What Should a Beginner and a Pro Use?

If you are just starting your journey with Node.js — confidently choose Express.js. It will give you an understanding of the basics and allow you to quickly launch your first project into production. For corporate development or complex systems with dozens of modules, take a closer look at Nest.js — its strict architecture will save you from code chaos. And if performance is critical (e.g., real-time applications or high-load APIs) — your choice is Fastify.

Important takeaway: there is no "best" framework. In the survey, 78% of developers noted that they keep at least two tools in their arsenal and choose based on the specific task. The main thing is to understand the strengths of each and not be afraid to experiment.

Full survey data and example source codes are available in our GitHub repository. And if you use something else — write in the comments, we are always open to discussion.